


I'm a Ghost

by SorrowfulSpectre (AmethystSkull)



Series: Ghost [1]
Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Gender Changes, Child Abuse, Comic Book Science, Comic book logic, Female Barry Allen, I failed, I tried to make it as realistic as possible, Morally Ambiguous Character, metahuman OC
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-06
Updated: 2020-12-30
Packaged: 2021-03-02 05:40:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 19,561
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23966287
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AmethystSkull/pseuds/SorrowfulSpectre
Summary: Jessica Anderson lived a depressing life. She worked hard to ensure her escape from said life and had a plan she's currently following to achieve that.Then, a particle accelerator explodes and gives her abilities that make her life easier. Of course she makes the best of it.Then another metahuman(and is that seriously what she is now?) finds her and asks her to join them and be a hero. Making her life complicated.And what else can she do? Of course she'll help even though it's only an excuse to hide from her problems.
Relationships: Barry Allen & Iris West
Series: Ghost [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1727878
Kudos: 7





	1. The Explosion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's a commonly known fact that heroes often come from traumatic childhoods only to experience even more trauma during their heroing. And yet, it's all too easy to just pretend that our heroes are flawless and can handle everything.

The sting from the hit was an unwelcome but depressingly familiar sensation. The screaming, the slurs, the lecture and the insults are also familiar. She wasn't even sure what she did wrong this time. Possibly absolutely nothing, except maybe be careless enough to let Fred see her. She focused on the important things. Like the rules she set for herself in situations like this.

Don't make a sound. Doing so could either; a) anger Fred more and make him hit you harder, or b) satisfy the sadistic prick and make him prolong this torture for his own pleasure.

Hold your breath. It helps dull the pain some.

Don't look at mom. You don't have to, you know exactly where she is and what she's doing. She's sitting in the kitchen typing on her laptop, working on some report or process she has to submit later tonight on her job. Looking at her would just make Fred start his ' _ What are you looking at her for? Begging for help? _ ' speech.

Don't look at Fred either. He'll view it as defiance and will anger him more.

Focus on something else. Think about your homework or your project. Focusing on something else makes the whole ordeal seem faster than it really is.

* * *

Jessica limped into her room and assessed the damage in her mirror, bruises mostly, some scrapes from the wooden floorboard on her right arm, but overall nothing that would last more than a week or two, and nothing that can't be covered by long sleeves. Her lip was bleeding but that was self inflicted.

She grabbed her bag and started on her homework. A few bruises won't stop her from graduating so she can get out of this hell hole. She's endured it for three years, she can hold out for another year till she graduates.

Scholarships and skipping years helped a lot, considering she's now in her last year of studies to get a PhD in Mechanical Engineering. Though the pickpocketing is equally as helpful in getting her enough money to actually afford everything she needs to graduate.

Speaking of which, she's gonna need to go out and get her allowance soon, she has just enough cash for the week and she still needs to buy parts for her project. She did the math in her head as she hid the shoe box with her cash underneath the floorboard again, dragging the carpet back to cover it afterwards.

* * *

She walked around town one beautiful sunny Saturday with a smile on her face, headphones on her ears and a cast on her right arm. Her headphones played no music but gave off the assumption that she wasn't paying attention to what's happening around her. Even as she skillfully grabbed the wallets and jewelries of certain people she passed by, shoving the cash on her pockets and dropping the wallets, hiding the larger bills inside her cast.

She usually only went for the cash, jewelry made too much noise and are hard to pawn without raising suspicion. Though she'd still occasionally grab them if she recognizes them to be expensive enough(but not enough to raise suspicion) or if they seem like something she'd wear. Certain lessons you'd learn after doing this for almost six years now.

On an easy, busy, day like today she makes around 500-800 bucks which can last her two weeks at least. When she felt like her pockets were heavy enough and the paranoia began to creep up her spine, she started to make her way back home with her earnings.

* * *

So you might be wondering; Why is she pickpocketing the fair citizens of Central City? How is she graduating with a PhD at 15? Why is she letting some ass named Fred beat her black and blue? Why didn't her mom interfere?

Well it's simple really; life sucks! But seriously though, she's just doing what she can to survive. She's always been an intellectually gifted child, skipping years since grade school and progressing in her studies faster than a bullet. But of course, just when she was sure her life would just be one straight ride to a bright future, everything comes crashing down.

She was 9 years old, already in 8th grade, when she got pulled out of class one innocent, seemingly uneventful Wednesday, and told that her Father got into a car crash due to having a heart attack, he died upon collision and her mother was outside to take her with to see his body. That was the first tile down of the dominoes that would signify everything wrong happening in her life.

The second was grief. More specifically, her mother's grief. Apparently her mother doesn't cope well with loss. Because she decided that the best way to grieve her deceased husband was to forget that their only child actually exists. Jessica spent two months trying to interact with her mother before just giving up. In those two months she suffered starvation from her mother not making enough food for both of them, neglect from being ignored and treated as if she didn't exist, and her grades dropped from the stress and emotional exhaustion.

The school was very understanding of her situation though, knowing how hard it would be for a child to lose a parent at such a young age, even with her high intellect. But soon enough she realized that if her mother won't be there for her anymore, she'll have to survive on her own.

And thus, the pickpocketing, she had to eat somehow. Besides, she's always been a bit of a klepto anyways, but having lived a life where everything you want was given to you in a moment's notice, she had no reason to indulge on the part of her that wanted to just take and take and take whatever she pleased.

There were some hiccups here and there, she'd get caught sometimes, get screamed at, maybe hit. Though it helped teach her how to act fast, to study the person; Do they seem like someone you have to run from or someone you can exploit? Can you play the 'starving child' card and have them let you go, or better yet hand you their cash willingly out of pity? Or would you have to run as fast as you can and hide before they can call the cops?

The third tile down was Fred's appearance in their life. It was an interesting, almost romantic story; Grieving widow working as a secretary to some company meets nice, good looking new employee who needs someone to teach him the ropes, they spend time together, maybe have some coffee, fall in love, all that shabang.

Except they never mentioned the 11 year old daughter of the secretary who she still hasn't acknowledged.

Fred moves into their apartment a couple months into their relationship and tries to act friendly around her. Though he drops the facade upon realizing that Allison literally doesn't care about her daughter. That's when the yelling began. Then the hitting. And there was nothing Jessica could do about it.

The thing that kept her from just sinking and drowning was the knowledge that her skipping years made it all worth it. She can graduate early, get her PhD, get a job and get as far away from Allison and Fred as she can. Central City University never even checked on her excuse on where all her tuition money came from, apparently 'trust fund left by my dead father' was a solid enough excuse to hide the fact that she stole all her tuition money from random citizens.

* * *

Holidays were not a fun time for Jessica. No school means spending more time at home where she mostly just suffers. And while others are excited over spending time with family and getting presents, she was dreading having to work twice as hard to avoid the other residents of their tiny ass apartment. The only positive thing about the holidays is people carrying more money which gives her twice as much earnings than usual.

Though another thing she's looking forward to this holidays would be the S.T.A.R. Labs particle accelerator being turned on. Seeing that beauty turn on is every nerds' dream. Sadly, she can only watch it from the roof of their apartment complex on her phone. She can't exactly attend the event being a minor with no guardian.

So that night she went up to the roof where she can distantly see the lab and watched the event live on her phone. She even brought her dad's photography bag with her, the one she stole from her parents bedroom after his death and kept hidden, it was the only thing of his that she could keep. And having it with her now made it feel like he was with her. Her dad was also a Science Nerd, in fact he was the reason she went for Mechanical Engineering in the first place.

She made sure to keep it underneath the umbrella she brought but had no intention of using. She let the faint drizzling water soak her hoodie freely. Rain is good, it calmed her down. And a faint drizzle on an early night is just the setting she needs to relax and enjoy the event.

_ 'I'm Linda Park here at S.T.A.R. Labs despite the inclement weather which would only get worse-' _

As she sat there on the roof cross-legged with her phone in front of her, she played with her favorite thing on the kit, not the camera that her father loved and cherished, but the six inch prism that he used on certain shots. It was the first science lesson she learned hands on. Refraction.

_ She could remember the way her father brought the prism up into the ray of sunshine entering their window and told her, "Raise your hand up right here Jessica" as he guided her hand to intercept the rainbow the prism produced, "Now look at your palm" he told his 4 year old daughter, unaware of how much that moment would mean to her. _

_ "Woah! Rainbow!" Little Jessica said. "Yep, a rainbow. Do you know how that happened Jessica?" He asked her. Little Jessica shook her head no even as she wiggled her fingers playfully at the rainbow on her palm. "It's called refraction. This-" he said moving the prism closer to her face, making the rainbow disappear and causing the child to pout, "-is a prism" he guided her hands to hold the prism. _

_ "Pizim?" She repeated as she held onto it. Jason guided his daughter to hold the prism up to the ray of sunshine, "Yes, Prism. When you hold it up to the sunlight like this," he explains as Jessica squeals in glee at having made the rainbow reappear, "it refracts the light and makes a rainbow" he continued as his daughter used her other hand to play with the rainbow. "Refraction. Can you repeat it?" He prompted. "Repaction" Little Jessica repeated clumsily. _

Jessica shook herself out of the memory and continued to pay attention to the live news report of the biggest achievement of Central City in Science History. Everything was running smoothly and people were cheering, even though there were still some protesting against the event, not that they can do anything now. She bets that right now, the team of scientists are celebrating inside the Lab with Dr.Wells, drinking champagne maybe, having a small private party to celebrate their accomplishment.

She wished that when she graduates, when she gets a job, which would be soon, she'll get to do something similar. Work on a project that would mark history, celebrate the success with a team of people that worked equally as hard to achieve what they did.

Her daydreaming was cut short by the reporter, Linda Young?, reporting a change in the event. "Wait, we are now being told to evacuate the facility. The storm may have caused a malfunction to the primary cooling system. Officials are now trying to shut down the particle accelerator but so far have been unable to regain control of the sys-" the report cut off seemingly by the camera turning off. Her phone's screen showed simply a 'leave news app?' message.

She looked up when she saw a bright light from above and leaned back in shock. There was an explosion coming from S.T.A.R. Labs and spreading throughout the city. The light passed by her uneventfully, though it seemed to have turned her phone off. Distantly she could make out something following the light though moving slower, some kind of energy wave that seems to blur everything around or perhaps behind it.

After the shock there was a moment of clarity that had her brain telling her that she can still make it to the door and inside the building if she ran now. But a small part of her made her stop and just sit still. If this is the end, if this kills her, would it really be that bad?

Surely not much would change if she died now. Her mother already forgot that she existed anyways. Fred would lose his punching bag,  _ he might start to go for her mom next _ . Her friends might grieve her for a while, but surely they'll get over her. Her teachers might feel disappointed at losing a student so close to achieving their dreams, but there are many others that would compensate for that loss. Truly, the only people who’ll miss her are Eliza and their family.

She clutched the prism close to her heart and stood facing the explosion. "If this is it, if this is what kills me. Then at least I'll get to see you again now papa" she muttered as the energy wave crept closer.

The wave collided with her making her stumble back. She heard something shatter, probably the prism in her hand, either from the energy expelled by the explosion and into the wave or by her clutching it too tight, then her back hit the concrete and everything went dark.


	2. The Scientist

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A peek at the other side of the coin. A day before the events of the previous chapter. Barry Allen is currently in Starling City investigating an odd case.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is following canon(ish) of Arrow(S2E8-9).

Barry exited the train holding her Science Magazine above her to shield herself from the rain as much as she could. Checking her watch, she cursed her tardiness and rushed to the crime scene that brought her to Starling City in the first place. 

Finding a cab was a struggle, but after some time she managed to get to the warehouse. She got in just in time to hear the tail end of the conversation about the 'crew' that did the heist, and so she objected.

"Actually it was only one guy"

And then all heads turned to her. Approaching them, she continued talking. "Sorry I'm late, well actually my train was late, but the second one, the first one I did miss. But that was my- nevermind actually. I'm here now so..." She managed to stop her rambling before she could embarrass herself more.

"Great. Who the hell are you?" Demanded the Captain.

"And do your parents know that you're here?" wondered Oliver Queen. Barry mentally cursed her baby face.

"I'm Barry Allen. I'm from the Central City Police Department, Crime Scene Investigation Unit" she introduced herself, showing them her ID, "We're investigating a case with some similar elements over in Central, so when the report of your case came over the wire, my Captain sent me here" she lied. Well it wasn't a complete lie, Captain Singh did authorize her to go investigate the case in Starling but there was no similar case to this anywhere, which was exactly why she was here. 

Oliver Queen gave her an odd look. "And you think one guy ripped through this steel like it was tin foil?" the Captain asked.

"One very strong guy yeah" she nodded. At their disbelieving looks, she continued, "Erh, it takes about 1250 foot-pound of torque to break someone's neck" she opened up and zoomed in on the image of the victim.

"See the marks on the guards neck? The bruising pattern suggests that the killer used only one hand" she pointed out, "I'm guessing you don't know how hard it is to break someone's neck" she directed the joke at Mr. Queen. 

"Hmm? No. No idea" he responded. Barry internally winced, yeah that was a bad joke, especially considering that the dead guard was the man's employee.

There was talk of checking inventory to figure out what was taken, but Barry already knew. "Actually I think I know what was stolen. A centrifuge. An industrial centrifuge" she started to move to where it used to be, "Probably the Kord Enterprises 2BX-900, maybe the six series. Both have a three column base" 

She started to make her point again upon reaching the location, "Here you can see the three sets of broken bolts where the thief just, poof, ripped it out of the ground" she imitated pulling something out off the ground. 

"And what exactly is a centrifuge?" the Captain inquired. 

"It separates liquids. The centripetal acceleration causes denser substances to separate out along the radial direction" the blonde woman explained.

"The lighter objects move to the top" Barry simplified.

"What did you say your name was?" She asked.

"Barry Allen"

"Felicity Smoak" 

Oliver gave both of them an odd look, so Barry pointed out another evidence, the footsteps. And then of course even with all the evidence the Captain remains unconvinced, which was fine since she was already expecting that.

* * *

Well Felicity and her are getting closer, friendlier. It's kind of weird, how easy they seem to get along. It didn't even take much effort from either of them. Though, it's pretty obvious Felicity is hiding something. But of course Barry won't push, they've only known each other a couple of hours after all.

And then they have a conversation about Starling City's vigilante, since Felicity was saved by him. And Barry had to share her little childhood trauma to Felicity to explain her interest. Though she didn't mention her father's arrest, she felt a little guilty about that, to both Felicity and her Father.

Then they find sugar in the crime scene, which was interesting. 

Now Oliver is acting weird, not that she'll be that great a judge of character considering she barely knew him. And then they bring up her little lie and she panics a bit.

* * *

Yeah Barry's getting a little suspicious now. What are the odds that the vigilante would be working the same case as them? And the SCPD sending them evidence so easily? It's giving her dots to connect, she hopes she did so correctly, considering that the final picture she drew up seems flat out ridiculously impossible... But at the same time, it definitely makes sense. 

And then she gets invited as Felicity's plus one to a party. After an admittedly awkward conversation on Felicity's not feelings for Oliver. Of course she agrees to come.

* * *

And now everything is crashing down. Though she can admit it's technically her fault for lying.

"There is no similar case in Central City. So tell me, Barry. What are you really doing here?" Oliver Queen had caught on somehow.

"I told you my mom was murdered" she started, looking at Felicity.

"By your Father" Oliver accused. And whatever Barry was planning to say was thrown out the window.

"He didn't do it!" She defended her Father. As she usually does.

"You told me the police didn't find the man who killed her" Felicity pointed out, and isn't that great, she's also suspicious of her now.

"The police think they did. My dad has been serving a life sentence. They didn't believe me"

"About what?"

And then she told them what happened that night. And why she's so invested into looking for the impossible. Why she's there in Starling helping them investigate a robbery. All because she wanted to help her Father. 

"I'm sorry I lied to you" she turned to Felicity, "Better find another plus one" Then she left.

* * *

There was a knock on her hotel room door, she opened it to see Diggle, Oliver's driver, holding a paper bag.

"Hey Barry" he greeted her, "Oliver says sorry, and asks that you come to the party so he can tell you himself, if you'd like to?" he offered her the bag. 

After a moment of contemplation, she took the bag. "I'll be there" she promised. Diggle nodded and left.

She went to the bed and opened the bag, inside was an outfit. A red dress, pretty and most definitely expensive, and red heels, also probably expensive. She started to get ready for the party.

She took a second to question how they found out her sizes before disregarding the thought and just heading out.

* * *

She danced, well more like swayed, with Felicity for a bit. Then Oliver approached them, swapping with Felicity. 

"I hope you know I don't dance very well"

"It's fine, just follow my lead" Oliver reassured her, she did so, "About earlier, I really am sorry, for the things I said" he apologized.

"It's fine. You were right, I did lie, and I'm sorry for that" 

"I'm also sorry for what happened to your mom" he added.

"Thank you, I appreciate that, I’m sorry too, about your dad I mean" she paused, wondering if this is the right time to ask him the question that's been nagging at her for a while now, "Oliver? I-" and then her phone started to ring, "do you mind if I take that?"

"No, no. Go ahead" Oliver led her to the bar so she could answer her phone.

"Captain" she greeted upon receiving the call.

"Allen, is the case you're investigating in Starling finished?"

"Almost Captain, we're still looking for the guy"

"Well we need you back at Central"

"There's a case?"

"Yes, can you make it back?"

"Yes Captain, I'm heading back now" she promised, the call ended and she went to Oliver.

"My captain needs me back at Central" she explained, "Listen, the sedative in the thief's blood is ketamine. It's a schedule-3 controlled substance. Shouldn't be too hard to track" she informed him.

"I'll pass it on to the SCPD" Oliver told her, then he gestured for Diggle who was talking to Felicity, they both came over.

"Dig, do you mind giving Barry a ride to the station?" Oliver asked.

"Wait you're leaving already?" Felicity asked, disappointed.

"Yeah, Captain needs me back at Central. It was really nice working with all of you" 

"It was nice working with you too, refreshing really, working with another girl for once" Felicity hugged her, Barry hugged back. 

She hugged Oliver as well before she could stop herself, he hugged her back and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "Till next time Barry" 

* * *

She cursed as she missed her train. Slumping on a chair, she called her Captain.

"I'm sorry Captain, I missed the train. The next one out won't be till morning" she explained sheepishly.

"Better get on that next train Allen, for now we'll just have to borrow one of the others" he responded.

"Of course Captain I-ahh" she felt something prick her neck. And suddenly she's feeling woozy.

"Allen? Allen!" Came the Captain's worried voice from the phone, but Barry can't hear him anymore, she's already unconscious.

* * *

She came to slowly in a brightly lit room, sitting up so she could duck and avoid the light. The first thing she saw when her vision cleared was bow and arrows, neatly arranged and displayed in a glass case. 

And then she saw Oliver lying on the table, looking dead. Felicity came into view, "Please save my friend" she begged, almost shakily. Oliver moved, jostling all of them, "Hold him!" She immediately said, rushing to Oliver.

"He's not gonna make it" Diggle said.

"He will" Felicity countered, "We just have to find out what's in his system" 

"I- I usually only work on dead people" Barry pointed out, panicking. 

"Barry!" Felicity's yell had her mind clearing up suddenly.

"Alright, I can think of four possible diagnoses for what's causing his body to react this way" she informed them as she started to move around. _Check his eyes,_ _so not that one_. 

"Make that three possible diagnoses" _Check his pulse,_ _not that either_.

"Two" she looked around for a syringe, "Start chest compressions" 

"I need to get to his arm" she told Diggle. She took some of Oliver's blood,  _ please be right please be right _ , "Got it"

"He's suffering from intravenous coagulation" 

"What?" Diggle asked, confused.

"His blood is unnaturally clotting. It's like maple syrup" she explained.

"You can save him right?" Felicity near begged. Barry panicked even more. She looked away from her and around them, then her eyes caught it, warfarin,  _ blood thinner _ . She ran towards it. 

"Lucky you guys have a rat problem" she muttered as she took some into a syringe.

"Are you kidding that would kill him!" Diggle yelled.

"He dies if I don't" she pointed out.

"Do it" she heard Felicity say.

Barry rushed towards Oliver, explaining what she's doing mostly so the two can calm down, she injected the poison into his IV. Slowly, he started to stabilize. Now all they can do is wait.

* * *

Oliver sat up with a gasp that had all of them rushing towards him. "Oliver!" Felicity called. 

"What the hell's going on?!" He asked, panicking. 

"You were injected with a strong-acting blood coagulant" Felicity rushed to explain.

"You would've stroked out. But fortunately, you had a very effective blood thinner handy. Warfarin, better known as rat poison" Barry added, Oliver looked at her in surprise, then concern. 

"She saved your life Oliver" Diggle said, noticing his expression.

"This is the point in a life-saving emergency where you thank the person that did the life-saving" Felicity supplied unhelpfully.

Oliver turned to her, angrily, "You told her who I am?"

"They didn't tell me anything" Barry interjected. Oliver turned to her with furrowed eyebrows. "I knew already before I got kidnapped by these two" she gestured at Diggle and Felicity. "That was what I was gonna tell you, before I got the phone call" she added. 

Oliver's brow raised in surprise, then they furrowed again, Barry could tell he was about to start threatening her so she interrupted him before he could start, "I promise I won't tell anyone. You can calm down now"

She started to approach him slowly, "Now if you don't mind I'm gonna need to take the strip on your neck that I used to absorb the residual oils on you so I can recreate the fingerprints of the man who attacked you" she told him.

He stared at her, reading her, and then he nodded and exposed his neck. She peeled the strip off his neck. "Give it a minute" she told him.

Suddenly his phone pinged with a message. Barry moved to provide privacy. Oliver sighed. "I have to go home" he told them. 

"The man that I fought in the bunker, he has what he needs to mass-produce the serum from the island. And we have to stop him" he announced before leaving.

* * *

So Oliver's having hallucinations, a possible side effect to the warfarin. As Barry took a blood sample, she couldn't help but ask, "Not to tell you how to do your vigilante-ing, but, why no mask? Cause the grease paint? Poor identity concealer"

"When you find me a mask that conforms perfectly to my face and won't affect my ability to aim on the run, then you can ask" Oliver countered.

Barry arched a brow, though she conceded to his point, "You should look into a compressible micro fabric"

And then Felicity finds their target and as Oliver and Diggle leave to do recon, Barry has one thought in mind, 'Well, guess I know what to give the Arrow for Christmas'

* * *

Upon finding the possible location of their target, Barry finally decided that she should be heading back to Central City. 

"You can stay, you know? The team could use your help" 

"I would, but I'm not ready to leave Central yet. There's still things I need to do" Barry declined the offer.

"Offer always stands, in case you change your mind" Oliver promised.

"Thank you"

"Thank you, for saving my life" he reminded her. 

"Anytime" she smiled cheekily.

He gently took her hand and gave a small kiss on the back of it, then he left, off to confront their target.

She stayed just long enough to finish her present for Oliver. Hugging Felicity and exchanging contact information, she finally left to go home.


	3. Discovery

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Following the story of famous heroes. There's always that scene where they realize they have powers(if said hero has powers). And Jessica is no exception.

She woke up feeling like that morning after the party where Eliza somehow convinced her to try out weed. Except this one was worse, she's soaking wet and cold, and she felt like she fell asleep on the floor.

She sat up slowly, and suddenly her chest felt like it was on fire. She sucked in a breath and hissed as she slowly clutched at her torso. Looking around her she spotted her phone still inside the waterproof bag and the kit still underneath the umbrella, the rain has stopped and light is slowly peeking out of the horizon.

The memory of what happened the night before came back to her slowly. She looked around her in panic, trying to find her father's prism or at least it's shards. Except there was nothing on the concrete below her, no glass nor prism. She checked her hoodie pockets and the shirt peeking out from the unzipped front of said jacket and neither had any hint as to where the prism was.

Except... Except her shirt had multiple small holes. Like something small and sharp penetrated it. And she woke up feeling like her chest was on fire didn't she? She gripped the bottom of her shirt but hesitated, even if she was right in her assumption, what can she do? She can't afford to go to the hospital. And going to the hospital would require a guardian.

'Fuck...' she thought to herself, but in the end, curiosity won over and she lifted her shirt to just below her breasts. What greets her are multiple scars, small and scattered all over her stomach. She bets that there are more higher up her chest, but she can't check it because she isn't wearing a bra and she's on the rooftop of their apartment building.

She let the shirt drop back down. She then stood up and collected her stuff, ignoring the pain that blossoms in her chest every time she leans down to grab something. She turned her phone back on and checked the time.

_ '5:34, I need to go back now' _

Making her way down the stairs of the fire escape was hell, but soon enough she got to her room's window and got inside. She shut her window and the blinds, set her stuff down on the bed, then proceeded to remove her jacket and top to assess her wounds in the mirror.

Her eyes caught her damp black hair first, the natural ginger roots have made an appearance again, reminding her to get some hair dye. Her eyes trailed down to her chest, noting her pale complexion, probably from staying and sleeping out in the rain overnight.

Her chest though, it was covered in scars, not that it wasn't before, but these ones are evidently more recent, and there's a lot of them, all small. That means that the breaking glass she heard before passing out was the prism shattering, and it somehow imbedded itself in her. What doesn't make sense though, was the scarring. It's only been a few hours, even though the wounds were small, it should at least still be scabs at this point.

Her phone began to vibrate and she went to check on it. _ 'It's already 6, I should be waking up and getting ready for class now' _ she cursed the fact that it was Thursday today and grabbed her towel. She had 20 minutes to shower before Allison gets to the apartment.

She contemplated before leaving her room. Then decided to snap a couple of photos of the scars, just in case. Afterwards, she immediately rushed to the bathroom,

She was used to taking showers in a rush. But today proved to be specially difficult. Her chest hurts every time she moves, the water hitting her chest sends shocks throughout her body, and the scrub makes her scars itch.

All in all, it was hell.

As she got ready to leave, she kept contemplating whether or not she should go to the hospital. On one hand, there's glass shards inside her and it could be making its way to her heart right now. But she can't risk going to the hospital and having them call Allison, or worse, Fred.

She left the house through her window again, making sure that her door was locked from the inside first.

* * *

Entering the lecture hall for her first class, she sat down beside Eliza, careful not to aggravate her injuries.

"What the hell happened to you? You look like you have a hangover. Weren't you watching the particle accelerator turn on last night?" Eliza interrogated her in lieu of greeting.

Eliza and her have been friends since they started college, they were both advanced students younger than the rest of their batch, though Eliza's older by 3 years.

"I did watch it, and the explosion it caused. And no, I don't have a hangover" she hissed at them, though it held no heat.

"Well you look like shit is all" They teased with a shrug.

She snorted, "Fell asleep on the roof, in the rain, like a bloody moron" she explained.

"Damn girl, were you sulking or something? This ain't a movie"

She couldn't help but laugh, regretting it a moment later when it sparked the pain in her injury, she groaned and clutched at her chest, disguising it as crossing her arms last minute.

"Seriously though, you okay? Did you have... an interaction with Fred?" Eliza turned serious immediately upon noticing her pain.

"Thankfully no. Just uncomfortable is all, I did fall asleep on concrete" she shrugged it off.

"Alright, you know the offer still stands right?"

"And again, I wouldn't want to impose, I'm fine" she reassured her best friend. They both quieted down along with the class when their prof arrived.

* * *

She was fixing her eyeshadow in the mirror when another girl entered the empty bathroom and got in one of the stalls, she shut the stall door with a loud bang that made Jessica jump.

She saw herself briefly flicker in the mirror.  _ Flicker, she flickered _ . Like a glitch in a game or something, she disappeared briefly then reappeared.  _ 'What in the fuck?' _ she thought staring at herself with wide eyes.

Then Eliza got out of her stall and started rambling about their project that they had to submit before the Christmas break a week and a half away, and she managed to pay attention even as her mind ran a mile a minute with questions.

* * *

She barely paid attention to the rest of their classes because she was still miffed at what happened in the bathroom earlier. She  _ flickered _ for fucks sake! That was  _ not _ normal! But she had no plausible explanation for it other than it was all in her head and it didn't actually happen. And she had no way to find out if she's right because she had no idea how it happened in the first place.

School ended for the day and like every Thursday, Eliza and her headed to Jitters to relax and get some coffee.

"It's annoying too! The blackout happened in the middle of my movie" Eliza complained with a huff, taking a sip of their cappuccino.

"Wait so you didn't watch the particle accelerator turn on?"

"Well I was going to, but I got bored, besides, I can just watch it on YouTube later, plus, what with the explosion and everything I doubt the news would be leaving it alone so soon"

"Point taken" She muttered. Just as Jenna arrived at their table with blueberry muffins.

"No Iris today?" She asked Jenna, with the purpose of teasing Eliza, her best friend had a bit of a crush on the girl.

"Sorry, no Iris today" Jenna winked at Eliza, then turned serious, "She's at the hospital, apparently her sister got struck by lightning last night"

"The bubbly nerd?" Eliza asked at the same time Jessica said, "Shit, give her our best please" Jenna nodded with a smile and left to go back to work.

"Lightning? I can't help but wonder how that's like" she muttered.

"Probably like fire? But like a lot more hotter. But also like shocking"

"Was that a pun?" She snorted and almost choked on her iced coffee.

"Pun not intended!" They added, emphasizing the word not, then smiled wide.

Jessica reached for a muffin, "One large coffee with an extra shot of espresso" she heard Fred's voice. Out of instinct, she held her breath, and her hand went  _ through _ the muffin. She pulled her hand back as if it were burnt and sucked in a breath.

"Shit Fred's here" Eliza muttered, thankfully not seeing what happened, "Should we leave?" they asked, worried.

"What? No, no. It's fine. He won't stay, he's heading to the office now, and he won't ever cause a scene in public" Jessica rambled shakily, checking her watch.

Eliza must have taken her nervousness as a reaction to her step Father being there because they simply nodded. But Jessica is currently having another crisis.

First she flickers in the bathroom, and now, suddenly, her hand went through a muffin.  _ What the fuck is happening to her? _

* * *

She entered her room through the window and plopped down on her bed exhausted. She has more questions and absolutely no answers.  _ Why did she flicker? How did she flicker? How did she phase through a muffin? _ It's so weird and also interesting. But at the same time, because it was happening to her so randomly, it was also terrifying.

She stood up again to charge her phone. Passing by her mirror she stopped in front of it. She took her shirt off and stared at herself in the mirror, most of the scars are covered by her bra this time, but she doesn't have to see them to know that they're there. She put her shirt back on.

She mulled over what she's about to do. It's  _ absurd _ . And if she said her plan out loud it would honestly sound like something born out of some childhood fantasy or just flat out insane.

Having made up her mind, she closed her eyes for a second then opened them again.  _ 'Focus... Focus, imagine yourself disappearing, just going invisible' _ she watched her reflection intently. Then, she slowly turned transparent. She looked at her slowly vanishing reflection in awe. Losing focus, she didn't completely go invisible but she's now somehow transparent.  _ 'Freaky' _

She focused again, if she can control how transparent she can be, she can go invisible. She went more and more transparent until she completely vanished.  _ 'Cool!' _

She looked at her clothes which were still visible, she wondered if she could change that too. Sucking in a deep breath, she focused harder. Her clothes matched her invisibility.

She giddily pumped her fist up. Going completely visible once more upon losing her focus.  _ 'I just did that! Holy crap that's so cool!' _ .

She looked at her hand and focused, she phased through a muffin earlier, she can do it again. Slowly, she reached for the mirror, but her fingers simply touched the glass, leaving marks behind.  _ 'Damn' _

Breathing in, she tried again.

* * *

Around 10pm she left her room to go to the bathroom. She did her business quietly and started to make her way back to her room. Then, she heard the door of the bedroom to her left about to open. She leaned on the wall connected to her room, fully aware that she can't make it inside without being noticed, she focused as hard as she could, she can't see herself so she had no idea if it even worked.

The door opened and Fred left the room closing the door behind him. He turned towards her and started walking, he either ignored her(impossible, he never let an opportunity to beat her pass) or she actually did it and managed to control her newfound ability (a more possible explanation, even though it sounds absurd. And that's saying something considering she spent the last couple of hours practicing this)

As he came closer, Jessica instinctively held her breath, she pressed further into the wall,  _ and went through it _ , into her room. 'What the fuck?' she sat up quickly, sucking in a breath.  _ 'Breath... Wait, breathing? No way' _ she thought, drawing up a conclusion.

Making her way to the mirror again. She stared at it's mark free surface(she will be very disappointed if this doesn't work, she does not want to spend another two minutes wiping her mirror) then she reached out once more.

She paused, inhaled deeply, then held her breath. She let her hand move again, and it reached the mirror,  _ and phased right through it _ . She pulled her arm back quickly and clutched it to her chest, eyes wide. She had to actively stop herself from jumping around in glee.

She figured out her powers. And yes, somehow, she has  _ powers _ . She can somehow change her transparency and go invisible. And she can phase through stuff. That was so cool. And the more she thought about it,  _ useful _ . She can evade Fred easier now. Moving around the apartment is easier now. She just had to master controlling her newfound abilities.

* * *

Somehow, that wasn't the extent of her abilities, because she can actually float, or at least levitate. Discovering that was an experience. Waking up and levitating two feet off the floor to the door nearly gave her a heart attack when she realized what she was doing.

That ability was weirder, and more complicated than the others. She can't necessarily fly, but she can levitate off the floor. And if say, she was standing on top of a building, and walked off the roof, if she uses her ability she won't fall, because she'll just be levitating at the height where she was previously standing. It was a complicated ability that she found hard to control and therefore didn't trust quite as much.

She kept her research on her abilities in a notebook. Everything was written in code. She used the Caesar Cipher, 6 characters to the left. It wasn't the most complicated cipher, but she highly doubted that Fred or anyone else would bother to decode it. Especially since the first three pages are fake diary entries. She thought that if people thought that it's simply a diary they'd probably just leave it alone.

Closing said fake diary shut. She shoved it back into her backpack as Eliza returned with their drinks. She felt bad for hiding her abilities from her best friend, but she's way too paranoid at the moment.

"Here's your iced coffee with two extra shots of espresso, because we have an exam tomorrow"

"Thanks so much for covering for this one, I promise I'll pay you back when I get some money" she thanked them as she took a swig of her coffee.

"Hey I get it, we're busy and you can't go out to do your business because of the exams, it's fine, I'll cover for you for now, you always pay me back anyways" They reassured her.

"You're the best"

"And don't you forget it"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You may or may not have noticed the mention of one Iris West. And by the context of the conversation you'll realize I made Barry a girl(you know, in case you missed it in the tags and previous chapter). This is because I personally believe we don't have enough Female Barry Allen fics. I promise the gender change will not affect much.


	4. The Creation of The Flash

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Jessica discovered and studied her powers. The hero of the story lay resting, asleep, _evolving_ in the Cortex of S.T.A.R. Labs.

Barry entered the precinct carrying four cups of coffee from Jitters. Joe approached her and automatically took one, immediately taking a sip. "Captain wants you in his office," he gestured at the fourth cup, "but I see you expected that already"

"Yeah I suspected as much, decided to come prepared" she sighed.

"Smart girl" he praised her, just as Chyre arrived, immediately heading for them.

"You gave us a scare kid" he took the coffee he knew was for him. Barry winced at the reminder of what happened. After Felicity and Diggle kidnapped her with her Captain listening on the other end of the phone, they ended the call before taking her to their base. So Captain Singh told Chyre what happened, who then called Joe. They then contacted Captain Lance, who contacted Felicity. Felicity told him that the Arrow took Barry for information on the case she's working on and that he promises to not harm her and that he'll return her after the case is solved. 

Though Joe didn't calm down until Barry called them to reassure them that she's fine while they were waiting for Oliver to wake up. 

"Yeah sorry about that" 

"You're okay though right? He didn't hurt you?" he inquired, concerned.

"No, no. He just needed my help" she reassured her pseudo uncle.

"If you're sure"

"Better head on and meet with the Captain before his coffee goes cold" Joe interjected before they could move on to a different topic.

"Right" she steeled herself, "Wish me luck" she told them as she started to make her way to the Captain's office.

"She's gonna need it" Chyre muttered in sympathy, taking a sip of his coffee. Joe hummed in agreement as he too, took a sip of his beverage.

* * *

Barry knocked on the Captain's door. "Come in" he called from inside and Barry did so cautiously. 

"Allen" he greeted her.

"Captain" she set his coffee on his table. Taking the seat he gestured at, Barry nervously sipped her own coffee.

"How are you?" Captain Singh asked, dropping all pretense.

"I'm alright Captain, he didn't hurt me" she reassured him. "He was on the case I was helping with. So he decided to, erh, ask for my help" 

"And you didn't get any information? Evidence?" 

"Sorry Captain, he had his mask on the whole time. And he knew I was a CSI. He was cautious"  _ Balance the lies and the facts _ .

"Alright then Allen, you're dismissed" she nodded and left his office, heading to her lab.

* * *

"Okay! I am ready to see this atom smasher... smashing" Iris announced as she entered the Lab. 

"There was a shooting today. Joe needs me to process some evidence" Barry informed her as she moved around her lab processing said evidence. "Which means that I don't know if we're gonna be able to make it to S.T.A.R. Labs" 

"But seeing this thing turn on is like your dream" her sister muttered as she grabbed one of Barry's fries, "Your sad little nerdy dream" she added, eating the fry she stole, "Besides, I cancelled a date for this" she spoke while chewing.

"Hey! Hands off my fries" Barry grabbed her fries protectively, "Unbelievable" she teased her sister, walking off to do her work.

"I'm stress eating over my dissertation" Iris defended herself, following her around the Lab. "We started selling cronuts at Jitters. I ate two today. If I don't graduate soon I'm gonna be more muffin top than woman" she muttered, eating another fry.

"You look amazing sis" Barry told her after giving her a quick once over.

"You're obligated to say that because you're my sister" Iris scoffed as she looked at the magazine with the particle accelerator article. "What's so important about this particle accelerator, anyway?"

"Harrison Wells' work on Quantum Theory is light-years ahead of anything they're doing at CERN" Barry started to explain.

"You're doing that thing where you're not speaking English" Iris gave her a look.

Barry looked to the side and saw her board, "Okay" she went towards it, "Just Imagine that that dot," she drew a dot, "is everything the human race has learned until this very moment" 

"Does that include twerking?" Iris asked half teasingly when she turned back around to face her. Barry snorted, "Scientifically" 

"What happened to 'anything and everything around us is scientific in one way or another'?" Iris mocked as Barry turned back to the board to draw a large circle around the dot.

Barry ignored her comment and continued her explanation, "That is everything we can learn from the particle accelerator. It's a whole new way of looking at physics. It will literally change the way that we think about everything"

Iris sandwiched her sister's face in her hands "We gotta get you a boy-or girl-friend" she told her.

"Hey, leave your sister alone. She's working" Joe interrupted them, making Iris release Barry's pouting face.

"Hi dad" she greeted him. Then Barry's computer pinged, making them all turn to it, "Your test thingy is done" Iris muttered.

* * *

After getting the possible locations the Mardon Brothers could be hiding at, Joe let his two daughters go to S.T.A.R. Labs to attend the event. And they arrived just in time too. 

"So Barry, how was your trip? Did you find proof of the impossible in Starling City?" Iris asked her. And boy was she glad Joe didn't tell Iris about her 'kidnapping'. 

"Well... I made some new friends" Barry started slowly, "Felicity, Diggle... Oliver Queen" 

"What?! No way... And you're just telling me this now?" Iris smacked her arm. "Is he really as hot as the pictures?"

Barry paused to think, a blush crawled up her neck, "Yeah, you should've seen his arms" she whispered. But her teasing smile dropped when she remembered Oliver on the table, dying from blood coagulation.

The audience clapped at the arrival of Harrison Wells. Shaking the image out of her head, she joined the clapping audience.

Dr. Wells started his speech, and Barry listened attentively. Captivated.

Iris panicked, grabbing Barry's shoulder, "No! Hey! My laptop! It's got my dissertation" without a moment's hesitation, Barry ran after the mugger.

She felt thankful she wore flats for the event as she chased the kid to a back-alley. Grunting at having the bag suddenly shoved at her stomach, she started to talk, "Hey, you don't have to do this alright? Just give me back my sister's bag, and we'll call it even. Alright?" 

The kid seemed to inch closer, then changed his mind and started running again. Barry gave chase. He jumped over the fence only to be stopped by a detective. "Freeze! Police! Or do you wanna find out the hard way that you're not faster than a bullet?"

Barry shoved open the unlocked gate and walked through, she recognized Detective Thawne to be the one who stopped their mugger.

* * *

"Who is that guy? And what is he so proud of? So he caught a mugger" Iris asked Barry when they got to the precinct. 

"He's a transfer from Keystone, started a few weeks ago. Eddie Thawne"

"Oh, so that's Detective Pretty Boy" Iris muttered then immediately turned to Barry defensively, "That's what Dad calls him" 

Barry gave her a raised eyebrow, "I know, lots of Detectives call him that"

"Well Dad also said he keeps score when it comes to arrests" Iris added, steering the conversation away from its current path.

After a moment Barry turned and whispered to her, "He is pretty though" sending them both to a fit of laughter that had Barry forgetting her disappointment at missing the rest of Dr. Wells speech.

* * *

As she made her way back to her Lab, she decided to call Felicity.

_ "Hi" _

"Hey"

_ "Did you make it?" _

"Yeah I made it back to Central City in time but I missed the cutoff in line at S.T.A.R. Labs. I was late, as usual"

_ "Hey at least you made it right?" _

"You're right, you're right" 

_ "Oh hey, Oliver wants to talk to you" _

_ "Hey Barry" _

"Oliver. Did you see the gift I left you?"

_ "I'm looking at it right now. And I gotta say... I'm impressed"  _

"Well, I'm glad you like it"

_ "Thank you Barry" _

"Don't mention it. Bye Oliver"

_ "Bye" _

_ "Bye Barry!" _

"Bye Felicity"

The call ended and Barry set her phone down on the table, turning on her computer so she can watch the particle accelerator turning on live.

_ "I'm Linda Park and we're live outside of S.T.A.R. Labs-" _

She moved towards her case board. After adding another note to it, she stepped back to simply examine it.

She allowed all the emotions that her mother's case always brings rush through her, the heavy feeling in her chest a welcome feeling reminding her of her goals.

The beeping of an alarm dragged her out of her musing and had her turning towards the computer.

_ "Wait. We're now being told to evacuate the facility. The storm may have caused a malfunction to the primary cooling system. Officials are now trying to shut down the particle accelerator but so far have been unable to regain control of the syst-" _

The report suddenly cut off. Followed by a loud explosion that had Barry looking up out the window in front of her. A sudden bright light erupted from S.T.A.R. Labs. Barry rushed to the sky light to close it. Ignoring the rain soaking her.

She looked around as she did so, noting the liquids around her floating, seemingly losing gravity. It unlocked a memory.

_ It's almost like that night. _

She looked up upon hearing the crack of lightning, just in time to witness one shatter the glass and strike her directly in the chest. She immediately lost consciousness.

* * *

Iris rushed upstairs at the sound of shattering glass followed by a loud crash. She entered Barry's Lab and screamed. There laying atop a fallen shelf was her sister, unconscious.

"Barry!" she rushed to her side and grabbed her hand.

Detective Thawne and another CSI rushed in. She heard him mutter a curse and tell the CSI to call 911. 

He approached Barry's unconscious form and immediately searched for a pulse. Iris clutched her sister's hand desperately. After some cursing and switching between her wrist and neck, Detective Thawne finally found a faint pulse.

"She's still alive!" He announced. Iris gasped in relief, clutching Barry's arm to her chest.

Minutes later, the paramedics arrived and took Barry to the hospital. Captain Singh called Joe to inform him of what happened.

Detective Thawne drove Iris to the hospital in his car, following the ambulance Barry's in.

* * *

Iris hated seeing her sister like this. Unconscious. Laying on a hospital bed. Looking almost dead. 

She wanted to see her forest green eyes, bright and full of life. Wanted to hear her voice, excitedly rambling about some scientific mumbo jumbo. Wanted to hear her laugh, tease her, help her with an article, anything! 

Anything but this still, unresponsive body laying on the hospital bed in front of her.

"Wake up Barry. I need you back. You promised me you'll always be there for me when I need you. In a heartbeat. No matter what. Well I need you now. So please come back" she clutched her hand tighter, "Please... I need my sister back"

* * *

"You got a lot of get-well-soon letters Ber. Better wake up soon. We wouldn't wanna make all these people wait long" Joe told the still form of his kid. His second daughter.

"Heck, you got some from the workers, and even some regulars, at Jitters" he muttered as he looked through the cards. "Course you also got some from the precinct. Your CSI buddies put a lot of science-y stuff on theirs. I'm gonna need you to explain some of them to me"

"Do you remember when you were 12 and you were scared of the dark so I'd come guard you till you fell asleep? I used to say I missed being able to do that. Watch you sleep, protect you from the monster under the bed... Or your version of it" he remembered her nightmares, screaming about the man in the lightning. Then he forcefully reminded himself to only focus on positive things.

"I changed my mind. I don't ever wanna see you sleeping again. I wanna see you up and running. Rushing to crime scenes, late as always. Bustling about in your lab, solving cases. Having fun with Iris, talking about boys... and girls" He just wanted to see her awake. 

The heart monitor started beeping erratically again. And the lights began to flicker. Doctors and nurses rushed in, ushering Joe out and fussing around his daughter. Joe watched from outside the door, through the glass, his hands clenched tightly.

'Please Barry. I already lost Chyre. And I know you two are close, but it's not your time yet. Chyre, Nora, they can wait, you still have so much left to do. Please. Wake up'

He turned to sit on one of the waiting chairs, but instead found Harrison Wells himself blocking his path. "What the hell are you doing here?" he demanded.

* * *

"We've only known each other two days before you got stuck here" Felicity started, "But we had a connection. We were meant to meet, meant to be best friends. We barely knew each other six hours and we were already so close" she clutched her hand.

"I can't lose you yet. We haven't talked enough, hung out enough. There's still so much we need to do! Memories to make" Felicity tried her best to clear the lump in her throat before continuing.

"I was gonna ask for your help getting dirt on Oliver you know? We'd have so much fun teasing him" a tear rolled down her cheek.

"Please wake up"

* * *

"You should've stayed. In Starling with us... With me" Oliver sat by Barry's bed, slowly rubbing circles on her palm.

"Had you stayed, this wouldn't have happened" 

"I never should've given you a choice. They already thought I kidnapped you anyway. We should've just kept you. I'm sure Felicity would've happily agreed to help" He had no doubt she would've if she knew this was what would happen.

"You just had to go back" He sighed. Barry had gotten him a christmas present, and he never even got to greet her Merry Christmas. 

"Come back to us Barry. Starling's waiting for you, I'm sure Captain Lance would gladly hire you after he saw your skills. And if he doesn't, well, Queen Consolidated will have a spot just for you" he tried to bribe her.

"We'll be waiting for you Barry"

* * *

"Rob's being a health freak right now. Saying if he can't get me a healthy schedule he'll just have to make me eat healthy" Singh complained, taking a bite of his Big Belly Burger. "Better not snitch on him Allen" he threatened.

"Precinct's been a little less lively since you've been gone. A little darker, gloomier" he admitted. "And i don't wanna invest in lamps or light bulbs, so you're gonna have to wake up and brighten the office back up soon"

"I received a letter yesterday from the SCPD. Apparently you got a recommendation. They're offering you a job! Can you believe them? Thieves, the lot of them. Well guess what Allen. They're gonna have to go find themselves their own quirky, energetic genius. Cause you? You're stuck here in Central. With all our boring, totally normal cases"

"Yep. You're not going anywhere, except out of that hospital bed. Forget the damn letter, I'm shredding it when I get back to the office" Singh scoffed. 

"Better wake up soon Allen, or I'm gonna have your lab turned to a boring little office"

* * *

"Hey Ber. I have a confession to make. But you gotta promise not to tell Dad, okay?" Iris mumbled.

"So you might be wondering, what am I doing visiting you with Detective Thawne? Well, guess what? Eddie and I are dating now. Surprise!" Iris announced, as if the two of them were simply having a conversation. Just like old times.

"Hey Allen, Iris warned me you'd give me a shovel talk. So I'll be waiting for that" Eddie said from beside Iris.

"Don't worry, she'll do it soon, so be ready" Iris warned him.

"I'm always ready" he promised.

Iris closed her eyes tight, hugging Eddie, "She'll wake up soon" she repeated, more to herself than him.


	5. Red Phoenix Reborn in Golden Lightning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Hero rises reborn. And faces their first contender. And with speed gifted by chaos she runs to danger to save her home city from being destroyed.

There was a faint sound, like music, around her, she could feel the bass of it, resonating. She strained to try and recognize it and found that she couldn’t, it was like she was underwater, or wearing thick earmuffs.

There was a sudden jolt in her system, like getting shocked by static electricity, it had her seating up with a gasped, "Where am I?"

There were voices, saying something she missed. Then someone was pushing her back down and a light is being shined directly into her eyes. She forced herself to sit up.

"Look at me. Look at me" A woman was instructing.

"Hey. Hey. Whoa whoa. Relax" There's an arm on her shoulder, her bare shoulders. She moved to stand up. "Everything's okay, man. You're at S.T.A.R. Labs"

_ What? _ "S.T.A.R. Labs?" That explained nothing, in fact it simply garnered more questions, "Who are you?" She asked the guy in front of her when her vision finally cleared enough to see him.

"I'm Cisco Ramon-" she flinched at the feeling of something in her ear and turned to her left, "She's Caitlin-Doctor Snow" said doctor held up a cup in front of her.

"I need you to urinate in this"  _ The hell? _

"Not this second" Cisco grabbed the cup and put it away.

"Wait. What is happening?" She pulled away from them, putting distance between them, "What is going on?!" she demanded feeling panicked.

"You were struck by lightning dude" Cisco answered her.

"What?" she asked in disbelief. Turning around she came face to face with a monitor. A monitor showing her torso, the upper part was covered-thankfully-by a sports bra and below that… "Lightning gave me abs?" she asked, confused.

The doctor rushed towards her, "Your muscles should be atrophied-" she began to knead her upper chest, thankfully avoiding her boobs, "-but instead, they're in a chronic and unexplained state of cellular regeneration" she explained.

Cisco pulled her backwards to sit back down on the bed. "Come here. Have a seat" She plopped down on the bed, "You were in a coma" he stated simply, making Barry whirl towards him in shock.

"For how long?" she asked. Then she had to turn around the other way as a new, albeit familiar, voice interjected, "Six months"

"Welcome back Ms. Allen" Harrison Wells-who is in a wheelchair- greeted her, "We have a lot to discuss"

Fuck. Her life just got a lot more interesting... and confusing.

* * *

"It's hard to believe I'm here" she can't help but say as they went down long corridors, "I've always wanted to meet you face-to-face"

"Yeah? Well, you certainly went through great lengths to do it" Not that she intended for it to happen, especially through a coma.

"S.T.A.R. Labs has not been operational since FEMA categorized us as a class four hazardous location" Dr. Wells continued as they passed by a broken cage.

"Seventeen people died that night, many more were injured. Myself amongst them"  _ 'that explains the wheelchair' _ she thought as they stopped in front of a viewing area. Barry looked down at what probably used to be an amazing machine, but now...

"Jesus" was all she could mutter as she looked at the destruction below. "What happened?"

"Six months ago the particle accelerator went online exactly as planned" Dr. Wells began to explain, "For forty-five minutes I had achieved my life's dream. And then... Then there was an anomaly. The electron volts became immeasurable, the ring under us popped. Energy from that detonation was thrown into the sky, and that in turn seeded a storm cloud-"

"-That created the lightning bolt that struck me" Barry gulped at the realization.

"That's right" Dr. Wells confirmed her statement. "I was recovering myself when I heard about you" he continued.

"The hospital was undergoing unexplainable power outages every time you were going into cardiac arrest, which was actually a misdiagnoses" he turned his wheelchair around and began to move, Barry followed "Because, you see, you weren't flat-lining, Barry. Your heartbeat was beating too fast for the EKG to register it"

They arrived back into the room she woke up in, "Now I'm not the most popular person in town these days, but Detective West and his daughter gave me permission to bring you here, where we were able to stabilize you"

"Iris?" she asked, more to herself than him really. An image of her sister entered her mind, sitting by her hospital bed, worried, maybe crying. She felt the sudden need to see her.

"Iris, yes. She came to see you quite often" He confirmed.

"She talks a lot" Dr. Snow says from beside her, passing a thermos to Dr.Wells.

"Also, she's hot" Cisco adds. Barry looks up to the exit, completely missing what he said.

"I need to go" she says as she moves to leave.

"No you can't!" Dr.Snow immediately said, stopping Barry and making her turn to face them again.

"No-no. Caitlyn's right. Now that you're awake, we need to do more tests. You're still going through changes. There's so much that we don't know" Dr. Wells agreed.

Barry knows they're right. But right now all she wanted was to see her sister again. "I-" she paused because was she really fine? She just woke up from a coma after all. "-'ll come back. I swear. I just need to see my sister" she promised instead.

The three watched as Barry ran out.

* * *

Iris was refilling one of the regulars' coffee when it happened. She looked up when the doorbell jingled and saw her sister. Of course she'd imagined this scenario before, hoped against all hope that it was all a dream. That she'd wake up one day, go to work, and her sister would come for her daily dose of caffeine and chat with her for awhile.

So she didn't believe it at first and was just about to ignore it, but suddenly Cassie, the other barista, called out in surprise and confusion, "Barry?"

And then Iris was putting down the coffee pot because that just confirmed it, this is real. And she rushed towards her sister to engulf her in a hug that she returned just as fiercely. "You're awake?! Why didn't S.T.A.R. Labs call us?" she immediately asked upon letting go.

"I just woke up"

"Should you be walking around already?"

"Probably not, but I just missed you"

"I missed you too sis. But you need to get cleared by a doctor first. I watched you die Barry. You kept dying, your heart kept stopping"

"I know. I'm sorry. I promised them I'll come back right after" Barry took her sister's hand and held it against her chest. "See? Still beating"

"Feels really fast"

There was the sound of clinking and when Barry looked behind Iris the world seemed to slow down. She watched one of the barista's, probably someone new as she'd never seen them before, drop the glasses she was carrying in slow motion. Then there was the sound of jingling keys behind her and when she turned around the world was back to normal.

"Are you okay Tracy?" Iris asked the barista.

"Yeah I got it" she reassured her.

Iris turned back to her sister. "Dad's gonna be so happy to see you. Let me get my stuff okay? I'll be right back" she hurried off.

Barry tried to convince herself that she's fine as they left to head to the precinct.

* * *

In the precinct, Joe West embraced his adopted daughter. Now walking, talking, and standing again. "You scared the hell out of us kid" Joe muttered as he released her.

"Yep that was quite the nap you took there, baby face. And you still look twelve" Officer Davids teased as he passed. Barry and Iris laughed.

"You look okay. Are you really?" Joe asked in concern.

Barry contemplated for a moment before answering, "Yeah" she reassured her adoptive Dad.

"Detective West, we got a 550 in progress at Gold City Bank. Two dead. Storm's really picking up on the south side. I'd grab your rain gear" Officer Mills informed Joe. She turned to Barry, "Welcome back Barry, glad to see you up and about" she gave her a pat on the shoulder before rushing back to work.

"Sorry Barry I gotta run" Joe told her as he rushed to work alongside the other officers.

"Do you need my help?" Barry asked.

"No you take it easy, there'll be plenty for you to do once you settle in" Joe all but banned her, "Let's go partner!" he called out. He patted Iris in the shoulder as farewell before walking off.

"Hey Allen, glad to see you up" Detective Thawne greeted her.

"Thanks Eddie"

"Hey Iris"

"Detective. You should go. My Dad doesn't like to be kept waiting" Iris responded.  _ Coldly _ . Which was odd and quite rude. Which Iris usually wasn't. Making Barry wonder what the Detective had done to offend her sister.

"Right," Eddie said with an odd expression, "Glad you're back" he told Barry again before he left.

Barry turned eyes following Eddie as he left because there was something off about the way he's acting. Then her eyes caught the memorial. Or rather, it's newest addition. She rushed towards it in disbelief.

"The night of the explosion, Clyde Mardon shot and killed Chyre. Mardon and his brother died trying to escape, their plane crashed" Iris explained.

Barry didn't notice her get called away in her grief.

"Hey Barry, good to see you" another officer greeted her. As she nodded in thanks, it happened again. She watched in slow motion as the criminal they're processing reached for the other officer's holstered gun.

This time, she actually did something. She ran and shoved the guy, then suddenly she was back to where she was standing and watched as the guy slammed into the desk and got escorted by the two officers.

She panicked internally. Everything seems to pass in a haze, and there's not enough air in her lungs. She distinctly remembers telling Iris about getting air and calling her later before she found herself outside.

She could feel her hand shaking, and when she looked at it it was quite literally vibrating. "What's happening to me?"

She walked forward and slammed directly into a dumpster previously eight feet in front of her. And when she tried to move away from it, she crashed into the police car she was standing beside to earlier.

As she very slowly and carefully moved away from the car, her mind was running a mile a minute processing what's happening. She came to one, very cool and admittedly extremely impossible solution. Super Speed.

So she turned towards a long alleyway and ran. Because who would Bernice Nora Allen be if she didn't believe in the impossible? And when she ran, the world around her seemed to blur. The excitement was quickly replaced by panic as she ran right inside the back of a van because she saw it too late and couldn't stop herself in time.

* * *

"You don't really believe she can run that fast do you?" Caitlyn asked.

"Well, I believe anything is possible. And in a few minutes maybe you will too" was Dr. Wells' response.

Cisco approached the van where Barry's changing, he kept the door between them as a barrier then called out, "How does it fit?"

The door opened and Barry stepped out now wearing a tight, revealing, imitation of a tracksuit and some weird tech, "It's a little snug" was her only comment.

"At least you'll be moving so fast no one will see you" Cisco tried to comfort her as they moved away from the van. They made their way to the field.

"See, you thought the world was slowing down. It wasn't. You were moving so fast, it only looked like everyone else was standing still" He patted her on the shoulder then gestured back to the tent, "Dr.Wells will be monitoring your energy output and Caitlyn your vitals"

"So what do you do?" she asked.

"I make the toys, man" was his giddy response. He reached into his pocket, "Check it, this is a two-way headset with a camera I modified. Typically designed to combat battlefield impulse noise. Or, in your case, potential sonic booms. Which would be awesome"

Cisco took her helmet from her as she laughed in part amusement and part disbelief, "Is the lightning bolt a sort of symbolism?" she asked instead.

"Hell yeah it is! Good eye" He then headed for the tent and Dr.Snow approached Barry. She fiddled with the sensors on Barry's tracksuit and the tablet in her hand.

She must've noticed Barry looking because she asked, "What?"

Barry panicked at being confronted, "Nothing. I just noticed you don't smile too much"

"My once promising career in bioengineering is over. My boss is in a wheelchair for life. The explosion that put you in a coma also killed my fiance. So this blank expression kind of feels like the way to go" She pointed out. Barry felt extremely guilty but Dr.Snow had already walked away before she can say anything.

"Ms.Allen, while I am extremely eager to determine your full range of abilities, I do caution restraint" Dr.Wells advised.

"Yeah" Barry agreed as she put her goggles back on. Cisco returned with the helmet and directed her to the starting blocks.

She got ready, feeling nostalgic of the time she used to run track and field in high school, she took a second to look back at the others behind her before running forward.

There was the distant sound of crashing but the sudden rush of adrenaline had her ignoring it in favor of running faster. She let out a whoop of joy as she ran. She kept going faster and faster.

Until she saw hints of yellow lightning on her peripheral, then suddenly she was back to that night. When she came back to herself again it was already too late and she crashed into a bunch of barrels.

She groaned in pain as she clutched at her broken arm.

* * *

"It looks like you had a distal radius fracture" Caitlyn diagnosed, showing her an x-ray image of the damage.

"Had?" She swiped the screen and the image changed to a new one.

"It's healed. In three hours"

"How is that even possible?"

"We don't know, yet"

"You really need to learn how to stop" Cisco teased her as Caitlyn walked away. Barry smiled in amusement as she adjusted her itching bandage.

"What happened out there today? You were moving pretty well and then something caused you to lose focus" she looked up at Dr.Wells.

She hesitated to answer for a second, "I started remembering something" she admitted quietly.

At his inquisitive look she told her tale, for the second time that week (or her week at least). At the end of the story, she asked the question that's been nagging at her for a while now.

"But what if the man who killed my mom was like me?"

"Well I can say unequivocally you are one of a kind" Dr.Wells answered. Barry nodded, accepting the answer. But Dr.Wells suddenly added, "At least, your ability is"

"What do you mean?" She asked, confused. And they explained. How the explosion affected others, only few of which they know off.

And honestly, what was she thinking? That such a huge explosion caused by such a scientific marvel only affected her? That's preposterous and, not to mention,  _ selfish _ . Of course others were affected.

* * *

Their explanation ended with Dr.Wells speech of how much of a treasure she is. Of how they could unlock new medicines, new scientific discoveries through her. How much she could help people. How she needed to remain safe.

She felt conflicted. Like something was wrong, odd, about his words. Like she was meant to be doing more than Lab tests and research.

So she went to Jitters to talk to Iris. And that's how she caught her sister kissing Detective Thawne. Which explains the scene from earlier. Iris caught her eye and an expression of shock crossed her face, Barry arched a brow with a teasing smirk.

She waited as Iris sent Eddie away and ran towards her. "So?" Barry inquired teasingly.

"Do not tell Dad! Okay? He doesn't know about us yet" Iris immediately went for the defense.

"Alright alright, jeez. But I'm hurt sis. Why didn't you tell me?" She continued to tease.

"I did!" Barry arched a brow, "While you were still asleep"

"Oh"

"Yeah..."

"Well how did it happen?"

"Well... While you were in a coma. Eddie covered for Dad's shifts so we could be with you" Barry felt a twinge of guilt at that, followed by gratitude and appreciation for Detective Thawne "I thanked him with a coffee date and things... Progressed"

"Are you happy?" Barry turned serious.

"Yes. Things are good"

"Then I'm happy for you"

"Tha-" Barry heard the sound of police sirens, then the world slowed again as she watched a police car head straight towards them. She pushed her and Iris away.

Looking up, she saw in slow motion the perp driving away in a black Mustang. She immediately stood up to give chase. Using her new found speed, she ran after and got inside the car.

As she looked at the driver, she immediately recognized him. Clyde Mardon, eldest of the Mardon Brothers. She watched him reach for his gun in slow motion and reacted. Pulling on the wheel, she caused the car to jerk and crash.

She got out of the flipped car and called out, "Hey! Mardon!" The third turned and took a few steps towards her. He raised his arm and smoke appeared and began to spread. As it neared her she realized it was fog, not smoke.

Mardon disappeared, but before she could run after him, a car crashed into the one she crashed behind her. She immediately sped away from the road. When the car stopped, she rushed towards it and checked on the driver.

Guilt rushed through her at the sight of the man's oddly angled neck. There was absolutely no way he could've survived. She ran away. Emotions running wild. Guilt. Regret. Fear. Confusion. Anger.

* * *

Somehow, things got worse. After Joe arrived, concerned about the safety of his two daughters, he and Iris had their usual argument on safety and police academies. Then when Barry told him what she saw? He yelled at her. Loudly.  _ In front of all their co-workers _ . So she ran again. First to S.T.A.R. Labs, where she left a message in a sticky note.

_ Metahuman. Bank Robber. Fog?. Clyde Mardon _ .

Then she ran again, all the three noticed was the sudden gust of wind caused by her speed. She ran all the way to Starling City. Straight into Oliver's base.

At the sound of her arrival, Oliver grabbed his weapons and had an arrow notched and aimed at her. She raised her hands in the universal sign of 'surrender'.

"Don't shoot. It's me" she muttered weakly.

"Barry!?" Felicity uttered, shocked as Oliver put his weapons down.

"Hey guys" she greeted them, her usual energy diminished.

"What happened? How did you get in here? You're awake? Since when? Why didn't you call?" Felicity was on a roll.

"Barry! Your jacket is on fire!" Oliver warned.

Barry immediately took her jacket off and threw it at the ground, stomping on it. "Sorry about that. Let me explain okay?"

* * *

It took a while to tell the whole story.

"Well, I'm glad you came to us" Felicity told her.

"I assume you didn't just come to say hi and catch up though?" Oliver asked.

Barry nodded guiltily. "I need your advice"

"We're here for you" Felicity reassured her.

"Dr. Wells had a point, when he said that I could help discover more medicine. But I want to be more. I can be a hero" she paused, "but what if I can't be? What if I'm just some girl who got struck by lightning?" She sighed dejectedly.

"I don't think that lightning struck you Barry. I think it chose you" Oliver told her. Felicity looked at him in surprise.

"I just- I don't know if I can be like you, Oliver. I don't know if I can be a vigilante"

"You can be better. Because you can inspire people in a way that I never could. Watching over your city like a guardian angel. Making a difference, saving people,  _ in a flash _ " he paused, "Take your own advice, wear a mask"

They shared a smile at the reminder. She nodded slowly. Feeling encouraged. Feeling like she can finally make a decision freely. She pulled both of them into a hug. Feeling her eyes water. "Thank you"

* * *

"I've been going through unsolved cases from the past six months. And there's been a sharp increase in unexplained deaths and missing people. The metahumans have been busy" Caitlyn and Cisco looked away guiltily, so Barry quickly interjected, "I'm not blaming you! I know you didn't mean for any of this to happen. And I know you all lost something"

"But I need your help to catch Mardon and anyone else out there like him. I can't do it without you" she was pretty much begging at this point.

Caitlyn and Cisco shared a look, silently communicating. Cisco nodded slowly, gradually getting giddier.

"If we're gonna do this, I might have something that could help" he offered.

* * *

And that's how she found herself jumping at a piece of the barn roof that was about to crush her Adoptive Father and her sister's boyfriend. Wearing Cisco's fireman suit, which he promised to do repairs on later to fit her better, standing in the farm Caitlyn tracked Mardon in.

She pulled off the breathing mask as she listened to Cisco's information, finding it restricting. Eyeing the tornado heading for Central City, which would only get stronger and more dangerous, an idea struck her. "What if I unravel it?"

"How the hell are you gonna do that?" Caitlyn asked her.

"I'll run around it in the opposite direction. Cut off it's legs"

Cisco said something she didn't catch, "You may not be able to handle those speeds. You'll die" Caitlyn warned her, concerned.

She said nothing. But she still ran, as fast as she can. Around the tornado. She can hear them talking, but she was running too fast and they were talking too slow, so she ignored it.

She tried to run faster but found herself unable to. “I’m too slow” she admitted to the two.

“You can do this Barry” Dr.Wells’ voice surprised her, “You were right, I am responsible for all of this. So many people have been hurt because of me. And when I looked at you all I saw was another potential victim of my hubris. And yes, I created this madness. But you Barry, you can stop it. You can do this.  _ Now run, Barry, run _ !”

At the time, she didn’t know how much weight those words would carry for the rest of her life. How much emotions would be tied to it. How many people who’s important to her would say it for many reasons.

All she knows is, at that moment, when she heard those words, she simply ran. Around and around and around the tornado made to destroy her city. And this time, she succeeded, the tornado stopped, and so did she.

“Barry?” she heard Caitlyn's worried voice call her as she was catching her breath, cowl off. Before she could respond and tell them she’s fine, she heard Mardon call her attention.

Turning to face him, she watched as he pulled a gun at her. “I didn’t think there was anyone else like me” he said.

“I’m not like you”  _ Not in the ways that matter anyway _ , “You’re a murderer”

He prepared to shoot her, and as Barry contemplated how best to approach the situation shots were fired. And Mardon went down.

She turned to look where the shots came from and found Joe rushing towards her.

“Barry?” Caitlyn called out, concerned.

“It’s over. I’m okay” she informed them, dropping to her knees, exhausted.

Joe reached her and nearly tackled her in a hug. “I need air” she half-joked.

He released her but kept his arms on her shoulders, “What the hell was that?!” he demanded.

“Okay I swear I’ll explain. But first I need to get out of here before the cops arrive. I’ll be back” She promised.

Joe nodded and they stood back up. With a nod, Barry ran back to S.T.A.R. Labs.

* * *

When she made it back to S.T.A.R. Labs she was greeted by a joyful whoop and congratulatory hug from an excited Cisco. Followed by Caitlyn checking her over for injuries, after reassuring the older woman, she came face-to-face with Dr.Wells.

She paused, unsure of his reaction after what happened. 

She fought the urge to sigh in relief when he simply smiled at her reassuringly then nodded in congratulations before moving past her. There was a wide smile on her face as she let the adrenaline from tonight's events to simmer down.

* * *

“What you can do. It was the lightning bolt?” Joe asked her when they could finally talk again the following morning.

"More or less”

“I’m sorry Barry. I’m sorry I didn’t believe you. When I called you crazy for chasing the impossible. But you really did see something that night your mom died. And your dad is innocent”

All she could think was  _ ‘Finally’ _

“I need you to promise me something” He said, now standing directly in front of her, “Don’t tell Iris about any of this. I want her safe. Promise me”

Barry faltered, “Joe, you know I can’t do that, she’ll figure me out eventually”

“Then at least for now. Just for how long you can keep it”

“Okay” she conceded. “I promise”

* * *

She has one last person to visit, and so here she is. Sitting in front of her dad. Separated by a thick layer of glass.

“Hey Slugger”

“You’ve been calling me that since I was eleven. Funny thing is I finally got into a fight today”

His brows furrowed in concern. “You just got out of a coma. I’m not sure you should be picking fights”

So much has happened the past two days she’d honestly forgotten about the coma. Something must’ve shown in her expression because her dad immediately went to comfort her.

“Hey, did you win?”

She grinned, “Yeah I did”

They shared a laugh. But the mood changed upon her next words.

“You didn’t kill mom. You know I know that, right?”

“You believing me is all I need”

“You’re not gonna be in here much longer. Whoever killed mom, whatever killed her, I think I finally have a way to find them, to stop them”

“Barry,” he softly interrupted her. “We’ve talked about this. It’s time to let it go. You’ve got to stop worrying about me. Live your life”

“For the first time I feel like I finally can. The truth is ever since the night mom died I’ve been stuck in one place. Missed out on a lot of things. But I’m different now. I made some new friends. They’re helping me find my way, to finally move forward”

She felt tears well in her eyes as she continued, “You remember when you wanted me to change my name? So I wouldn’t have to deal with people knowing you’re my dad? I’m glad they know. I’m so proud to be your daughter”

“I love you Barry”

“I love you too, Dad”

She held her hand against the glass, and he mirrored her action.


	6. Caught In The Act

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> During one of her pickpocketing days, Jessica gets caught. By a vigilante wearing red leather? Oh yeah, her life is about to get weirder.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I may have changed the timeline an itsy teeny bit. Events will still be cannon. However the episodes in the show will happen months apart instead of weeks.  
> There's a reason for this. But I won't tell, because spoilers.

Six months and a week after discovering her abilities, Jessica is back in business once more. So she donned her usual mask; her usual punk style clothes to seem like a normal teenager, headphones to emit an air of apathy, a cast to make her look less suspicious, and an expression that screamed 'teen off to do normal teenager shit'.

She tried to use her abilities to pickpocket before. It made it slightly more difficult because when she's invisible she usually has to pay attention and avoid bumping into people. Unless she was willing to hold her breath the entire time so she can simply phase, which she wasn't. And phasing made it more complicated because then, she had to make herself tangible to grab stuff then intangible again to get away.

So she usually pickpockets the traditional way. Though when dealing with smaller crowds that are spread apart she can and will use her abilities. It was a good way to practice and improve. Sadly it's summer vacation and there are too many people to try and risk that.

She was only halfway through her quota when she felt static energy in the air. Which was odd because it's the middle of summer. Her eyes glanced upwards into the streets for a moment as she was reaching inside a woman's purse, and she saw a red blur with yellow lightning trailing behind it.

* * *

Barry ran away from the burning building after she was sure everyone was safely out and she could see the fire truck in the distance.

"What else you got for me Cisco?" She asked into the coms.

_ "So far nothing yet, but I will tell you as soon as we get something" _ came the very slow response. She had to slow down significantly, as she usually does when speaking into the coms while running, in order to understand the message. 

It appears that slowing down was a good idea because as her eyes darted around the street she was in, her eyes met those of a young lady, whose hands are inside another woman's purse.

Realizing what was happening she changed course to grab the teenager and ran both of them to an empty alley, mindful of her injured arm. Usually she sends pickpockets to the precinct, but this one is a teenager and perhaps she can try to simply talk to her.

* * *

Immediately after noticing the weird blur, it seemed to come closer. And the next thing Jessica knows, she was being carried somewhere. Everything around her is a blur she can't process and she can feel the air in her skin, much harsher than it should be in the middle of June.

Everything returned to normal and she had a second to process that she's in an empty alleyway with a red-clad figure in front of her before she crouched to the side and retched. Thankfully she didn't actually vomit anything out. 

"Sorry about that" the red-clad figure apologized sheepishly. 

Jessica turned to face the woman, she could tell she was a woman from her voice, and waved a hand in a 'don't mind it' motion. 

"You were pickpocketing that woman on the street, I saw you, and that's why I brought you here" the woman said, making Jessica's breath hitch. She can't get a good read of the woman due to her mask, which means she doesn't know how to proceed.

"And you brought me here to do what exactly? Kill me with no witnesses?" She asked. _ 'When you can't read someone, stall, catch them off guard, plan an escape' _ . But how exactly are you gonna escape someone that can run faster than the eye can see?

"What? No! Of course not! I'm here to lecture you?" She didn't seem so sure of that last part.

"Lecture me?" Jessica asked. Blinking repeatedly to feign confusion. If push came to shove she can phase through the wall behind her and go invisible.

"Yes. You're young and have your whole life ahead of you, don't waste it committing petty crimes" She continued. "Actually," she paused, seeming to realize something, "you seem oddly calm, you're not freaking out?"

"About what exactly? The fact that I got brought here at seemingly impossible speeds? Or that I'm currently speaking to a woman wearing red leather?" She couldn't help but ask sarcastically.

"Both?" The woman muttered confused. And this confrontation is taking too long in her opinion.

"I'm freaking out internally" Jessica said, deadpan. _ 'And you're about to be too'  _ she thought as she discreetly inhaled, then holding her breath, she phased through the wall behind her. She heard the woman gasp right as she appeared in an antique shop, invisible, and released her breath.

She quietly made her way to the doors and phased through them, she saw the blur pass by and headed the opposite direction she went. Going visible once more when she's sure no one's looking.

* * *

Barry gasped as the girl walked backwards through the wall behind her, immediately she ran to the front of the shop but saw no one through the windows, she ran further to try and see if she somehow ran that way.

"Cisco I just encountered a meta that can walk through walls. Teenager, black hair, green eyes, wearing punk black clothes and a purple cast" she said into her coms, slowing down to be understood.

_ "Woah shit okay. Hacking public surveillance feeds right now" _ came the response.

Barry kept running around the city within the area they were in earlier. A few minutes later, Caitlin's voice came through the coms, forcing her to slow down and stop in an empty alley, the same one they were in earlier.

_ "Barry, we got a hit, she's eight blocks to your left" _ That was the opposite way she'd gone. Barry immediately ran to the location. And there she was, just about to enter a bookshop, probably to hide. 

Barry grabbed her again, this time she ran both of them towards S.T.A.R. Labs.

* * *

Jessica saw the bookshop and made the split second decision to hide in there for a bit and maybe find an interesting book to read during the summer vacation. Before she can step foot inside the shop though, she was once again grabbed and traveling at neck breaking speeds. 

She had to force herself to not hold her breath. She's traveling at who-knows-what miles per hour. She did not want to know what it would be like to abruptly fall to the ground from that speed. 

The next time the world around her cleared she appeared sitting on some cot in a medical room that's connected to an open space with monitors.

She gagged but forced the bile back down. She shook her head a bit to try and clear her blurry vision.

"Why the fuck won't you leave me alone?!" She snarled at the woman in leather, frustrated.

A brunette woman entered the room, followed by a Hispanic man. "Hello!" The man greeted her, 'He seemed too giddy to be a normal kidnapper'.

"I'd return your greeting, but I have no idea why I'm here" she directed at him. She wanted to be rude, but he seemed nice so she decided against it.

"If you're so affected by my pickpocketing earlier you should've taken me to the CCPD" she directed that part back at the woman in leather, "Because this is considered a kidnapping, not a citizen's arrest. And considering your current get up, I'd say this is actually vigilantism, which by the way, is also illegal" she added, annoyed.

The woman flinched slightly, "No. That's not why I brought you here. I brought you here because of your- because you-" she didn't seem sure of how to say what she's about to say.

"Because I went through a brick wall? Because I have powers? Like you?" She asked, her tone biting.

"Yes" the woman conceded.

"You realize that a person having abilities still isn't reason to kidnap them right? Unless your part of a secret government plot to take and experiment on people with abilities" she asked them sarcastically.

"I assure you, we are in no way associated with the government" a new, and familiar, voice added. And then Dr. Harrison Wells, of all people, came rolling his wheelchair into the room.

She made no outward indication of recognizing him, "That still doesn't explain why I'm here" she muttered. Here possibly being S.T.A.R. Labs if the man's presence were to be taken to consideration.

The four exchanged glances between each other. They seem to agree on a decision because they turned back to face her once more.

"We'll explain, but first, what's your name?" The brunette woman asked. 

"You have no right to that information. Start explaining"

"Right, if you would follow us please" Dr. Wells said, moving his wheelchair back out of the room and into the area outside, the others walking after him. She followed them as they approached a screen. 

The Hispanic man fidgeted with a tablet and then a video played on the screen. Dr. Wells began to explain. 

"When the particle accelerator exploded it released a wave of unquantifiable energy into the city, affecting many people. Including yourself"

"And her" Jessica muttered gesturing at the woman in red leather.

"Yes, and me" she agreed.

"The energy it produced, do you have any idea what they are? Or could possibly be?" She couldn't help but ask.

"We don't know for sure" The brunette woman answered this time.

"Antimatter, X-elements, dark energy. Possibly" the woman in red muttered.

Jessica's brows furrowed. "None of those has been proven yet" she pointed out. The two men looked to her in surprise.

"Either way, I already knew my abilities came from the explosion, doesn't exactly take a genius to figure it out. So really, all you did was prove that" she added, "So let me ask again, what am I doing here?" She hissed.

"You are a Metahuman, that's what we're called, those affected by the particle accelerator explosion" the woman in red said.

Jessica couldn't help herself, "Wrong" she interrupted her, they all looked at her in confusion, "you can't say those affected, because everyone in this city and even outside it was affected. People were injured, some died, and others received abilities. The families of the people who died, and of the people that were hurt, they were affected too" she explained, "So Metahumans are only those who received powers"

The woman in red slowly nodded at her words. "Right" she muttered. "So we brought you here because you are a Meta" she added.

"But why? I don't suppose you plan to kidnap every metahuman you encounter and keep them here do you?" She scowled.

"No! No. You just-" panicking, she looked to the others for help. The Hispanic man came to her rescue.

"You're the first Meta we've encountered who isn't trying to kill people" she arched a brow at his words glancing at the woman in red, "aside from Barry of course" he added quickly, then he panicked, realizing what he said.

"Cisco!" The other three yelled.

"Not good at keeping secrets are you?" She couldn't help but say. Then, the name registered, "Barry? Iris' sister Barry? The one that went into a coma after getting hit by lightning?"

"I- Yeah. How did- how did you know all that?" The woman in red  _ -Barry- _ asked.

"I know Iris... Kind of... We sent you a card, while you were in a coma" She answered her as vaguely as she could.

"We?" Barry asked.

Her phone vibrated before she could answer, she pulled it out from her back pocket. "I'm answering this" she announced upon seeing Eliza's name, and then hit receive, not giving them the chance to stop her.

"Cat" she said, disguised as a greeting, letting Eliza know she's not alone. A countermeasure they made to ensure her  _ guardians _ won't overhear anything they shouldn't.

"Foxy. You in your room?"  _ 'I'm alone. Are your parents listening?' _

She glanced at the four in front of her, "No, I have some business to deal with"  _ 'I got in trouble while doing business' _

"Thought you'd be done by now. Just wanted to know if you wanna hang with the squad"  _ 'Do you need help?' _

"Nah. I just got a little held up"  _ 'I can deal with it' _

"Alrighty. Welp, call me when you're done" _ 'Check in in twenty or I call someone' _

"I will. Gotta go now"

"Sure bye!" And then the call ended. She pocketed her phone again.

"Whatever business you have with me does not concern me, either let me leave or I fight my way out" she announced to the group.

"There's no need for that okay? Just let us run some tests so we can find out what happened to you and then we'll let you go. I'll take you back to the bookshop I grabbed you from" Barry said.

"No. Sorry, but I have no interest in being a Lab Rat. And I've already done my own tests" she told them, then she turned and started to walk away, she was just beside the table when Barry ran and appeared in front of her blocking her way.

"Just please listen to us, or at least let us check your arm"

"It's in a cast moron, which means it's already been checked by a doctor and is healing" she pointed out getting more and more frustrated at her insistence, "Now get out of my way"

"Okay, okay, then at least help us, with your help we can figure out more about the Metahumans" she added.

"Uh yeah, no. You said that I'm the first Meta you've encountered who's not trying to kill people. Which means you know other Metas, so where are they?" Jessica asked.

The woman flinched, and when she looked to the other three, their reaction alone was enough of an indication. "Dead. Did you kill them? Did your experiments?" She asked. 

When none of them answered she turned to face Barry again, and when she didn't move, Jessica walked right through her and continued out the arc leading to a hallway.

She was halfway through the hallway when the meta appeared in front of her again, messing up her hair. She fixed it and glared at the woman once more blocking her way.

"I've only met two before you. Clyde Mardon, he robbed a bank and killed people even before he got powers, he can control the weather. He tried to send a tornado to the city and I stopped it, a detective shot him when he was going to attack. And Danton Black, he can duplicate himself. I assume you've heard of the attack at Simon Stagg's benefit?" Jessica nodded and she continued, "That was him, he went to attack Stagg multiple times after, we fought, I defeated him, he jumped out a window, I tried to help him, he pushed me away. That's why your the only one alive that we've met so far"

"Look I'm just trying to save people, and perhaps understanding your powers can help my team help other Metahumans when we find them"

"It's been six months since the explosion. That's more than enough time for those affected to have coped and move on. I don't think they need your help" Jessica explained slowly.

"Maybe. But we don't know that. So just please, help us try to help others" 

Jessica sighed. She did not want to deal with this, but she can't turn away from them either. Not after all that's happened already. And especially not with this woman's level of stubbornness. She closed her eyes tight. Then she opened them again.

"I'm gonna give you an address. You're gonna take me there, then you're gonna wait while I get something that might help your team. Okay?" She asked the taller woman.

"Deal" Barry nodded with a smile, eyes bright.


	7. Part Of the Team

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Even someone as paranoid and independent as Jessica was bound to find superhero friends, It’s just movie logic.

Jessica climbed up the fire escape into her room and grabbed her backpack, she then put the jewelry and some of the cash she earned today into her hiding spot.

She took a moment to decide whether or not she'd take off her cast and reveal her injury to be fake. In the end, she decided to leave it behind. She remembered to send Eliza a message last minute. A series of emojis were sent; a thumbs up, cat, clock, phone and moon(I'm fine. Still not alone. Gonna call you again. If I don't check back in before midnight, start worrying). Eliza's response was immediate. A red dot emoji and a check mark(Noted).

She left her room again and met up with the Streak outside, and yes she does know who the woman's alter ego is, it just took her a bit to realize it. What with being abducted and all.

She clutched her backpack tight as they sped back to S.T.A.R. Labs. Upon being set down in the large room again she took a second to shake the nausea off, then she unzipped her backpack and took out her notebook. The brunette woman eyed her castless arm but didn't say anything. 

She looked at the four infront of her. "Well, it seems that I'll be helping you" she told them, appearing apathetic. Then she sighed, "My name's Jessica Anderson by the way" she introduced herself to them.

"I'm Cisco Ramon" the Hispanic man introduced himself.

"Doctor Caitlin Snow" the brunette woman followed.

"Doctor Harrison Wells" Dr. Wells said, though she already knew who he is.

"Barry Allen" she introduced herself after pulling down her cowl, revealing brown hair in a pixie cut, which seemed recently cut.

"You did not have to reveal your secret identity" she pointed out, "However, it's nice to meet you all" she said giving them a small smile. 

Her hand tightened on her notebook, before she offered it to them. "This is all my notes on my abilities, since I'll be helping you, you might as well read it" she explained as Cisco took it from her.

He opened it and they stared back at her. "This is written in code" Dr. Wells pointed out. 

"Yes, it's the Caesar Cipher. Six letters to the left. Ignore the first three pages, page eight, eleven and sixteen, they’re misdirection" she explained, though it was partially a lie since only the first three pages are misdirections, she simply didn't want them to read about her using her abilities to evade her abuser. 

Cisco nodded and started typing on a computer, Dr. Snow stood, "If you'd follow me please, so we can run some tests" she asked her. Jessica nodded and followed the doctor.

* * *

She's currently sitting at the infirmary with her top off as Dr. Snow examined her scars. "And you said they were already scars the next morning?" She clarified. 

Jessica nodded and reached for her phone, "They were fresh scars, I have pictures" she said offering her the phone. 

Dr. Snow was examining the images when the other three entered, "The computer is deciphering your note- I'm so sorry we didn't know you were-!" Cisco panicked.

"It's fine, I literally don't care" she interrupted him. She was still wearing a bra so it was fine for her. And the fact that she has no bruises also helped. She wouldn't have allowed anyone to see if she had bruises. But luckily she managed to evade Fred for an entire month. Though she could feel a blush crawling up her neck to her cheeks. "Although I only allow Dr. Snow to see the images" she added, remembering that she was not wearing a bra in the images.

"Right of course" Dr. Wells assured her.

Barry gestured at her castless right arm, "It wasn't actually broken" Dr. Snow answered. 

"It's just for appearances" Jessica explained.

"You can call me Caitlin, by the way" Dr. Snow informed her with a small smile upon returning her phone. Then she turned to the others, "The scars on her torso are from shards of a prism that she had on her during the explosion, it seems the prism merged with her DNA the same way the lightning did to Barry" she explained.

Jessica looked at Barry with an arched brow. "That explains the insignia" she commented, though Barry is now wearing casual clothes instead of her suit. 

"It was my idea" Cisco announced proudly. She smiled.

"A prism? That makes no sense with her abilities" Barry commented.

"The ability you saw me use was only a part of it" she spoke up finding no need to hide it anymore. "I can phase through stuff. But I can also-" she let herself become invisible, "turn invisible," she slowly let herself reappear, "control my opacity, and levitate" she finished without showing the last part. 

"Whoa. That's sick" Cisco pointed out.

"Thank you"

"That's a lot" Barry muttered. 

"And half of it doesn't connect with the prism. Was there anything else around you that night?" Caitlin asked.

"Water? It was drizzling, I was on the roof. I had my phone, my father's photography kit, and I didn't pay attention to the other things around me" she answered.

There was a ping from the computer and Cisco rushed towards it, "We deciphered your journal, I'll close the pages that we don't need, what were those again?" he announced. Dr. Wells and Barry followed him. With Dr. Wells repeating the page numbers to him.

"Well I'm done with my tests for now" Caitlin told her as she passed Jessica her top. Jessica put it back on. And then they joined the others.

They read her notes, with them occasionally asking something and her answering or explaining stuff. Stuff like:

"It says here that you don't use your intangibility during your period?" Caitlin asked. 

"Yeah it's painful, like cramps but like twice the pain" she explained.

"Right I'll try and figure out why that happens"

After a bit, Barry offered to give her a tour of S.T.A.R. Labs while the others continued to read her notes. She must have noticed Jessica growing bored, or perhaps she herself was bored, because she had already finished reading the whole thing. Jessica accepted and they left the three reading.

* * *

When they came back to the 'Cortex' the other three had already finished reading her notes and are now reading her file.

"You're in your last year to get a PhD in Mechanical Engineering?" Cisco half asked-half said, impressed. 

"You are?" Barry asked, surprised.

"I am" she nodded.

"Sorry about your father" Caitlin said all of a sudden.

"Thank you, it was a long time ago" 

"Well anyway. We don't know what could have caused the other aspects of your ability, only the Transparency makes sense with the prism. It's possible you were near something else you don't remember and it affected you" Cisco explained. She nodded, already aware of that.

"If you're up for it, you can demonstrate your abilities and we can take notes?" He added. Jessica paused.

"Sure, where?"

"Here's fine, you can stand there" Caitlin gestured to the middle of the Cortex. Jessica moved to stand in said area.

"So I described my transparency ability as a bar that can go from zero to a hundred right?" She started as she allowed herself to change opacity, imagining the bar just sliding back and forth without going to either end completely.

"Zero is normal'' she went completely visible, "and one hundred is invisible" she vanished. "I can decide whether or not to make my clothes disappear" she let her clothes appear for a bit then let it vanish once more. Then she went to 50.

Reaching towards the table, she grabbed one of the monitors, "I can also affect certain things I touch" she vanished and so did the monitor she's holding, "but it takes a lot of concentration" she let it go making it reappear, but remained invisible.

"Questions?" She inquired as she reappeared at 70. They shook their heads and she nodded. "Alright now my intangibility is different. I don't talk much while intangible because inorder to be intangible I have to hold my breath. And talking makes me lose breath faster and requires longer recovery"

She held her breath and started walking towards them, she phased through the table between them, then through Caitlin, and back again to her original position. She released her breath.

"Wait so your whole body is intangible?" Barry asked. She nodded.

"Yeah, and I can't do like, certain body parts only. I mean I can but I don't because it requires too much focus and full body is easier" she added.

"How do you not fall through the ground?" Cisco was the one to ask this time.

"A combination of two things. One" she held up a finger, "Inorder to phase through something I have to put force on it, give it a slight shove. And two," a second finger flicked up, "I levitate"

"Right, cool" Cisco nodded.

"Your levitation. Can you show us that?" Dr. Wells asked her. 

"So my levitation is... complicated" she started. "I can hover about a foot off the ground max" she allowed herself to levitate at said height. "I also technically move faster while levitating" she added as an aside.

Then she pulled her legs to sit cross-legged in the air. "I can 'sit' in suspended air, I think I'm two and a half feet off the ground right now" she explained. She looked around and went to one of the tables and climbed it.

"And I can change my starting height" she said, walking off the table and continuing to walk on air. "So if I walked off a building like I did with the table, I can walk on air at that height as long as my ability is active" she added. "That's all I know about it" she ended her explanation.

"Thank you for your demonstration" Dr. Wells said and she nodded going back to behind the table.

Cisco returned her notebook to her, "we have the decoded version on the computer" he informed her. She nodded and accepted her notebook, grabbing a pen from her bag, she added into it.

_ It is possible that the energy wave that hit me contained: _

  * _Antimatter_
  * _Dark energy_
  * _X-Elements_



_ According to Harrison Wells and what remains of the S.T.A.R. Labs staff. _

_ I was correct in my assumption that my abilities came from the explosion, those who received abilities are now called 'Metahumans'. I am now one of these Metahumans. _

She continued to write in her journal as the others read her file and notes and made their own notes.

* * *

After a bit, she was being brought home by Barry after agreeing to come back again tomorrow, though she told them she didn't need to be picked up as she can drive to the Labs.

That of course started a conversation on how and why she has a license. She had to explain to them that she applied for a learner's permit with the help of a teacher. And she got it a month after the explosion. 

After some more explaining and literally showing them the permit they allowed her to drive herself to the Labs. But then when asked what she was driving, her answering 'motorcycle' started another conversation.

A conversation that had her admitting that the bike was actually stolen but that it had already been a year and no one would be looking for it anymore because she stole it from a tow yard. She along with some other friends and classmates did so last year during a friend's birthday and they all stole a vehicle.

She made sure that she was invisible when she said that though, just in case they decide to try and use footage of it against her. Sue her for being paranoid.

After that they finally allowed her and Barry took her home before she herself went back to her apartment.

Jessica climbed up to the roof and called Eliza before going to her room.

_ "Foxy" _ They greeted her.

"Foxy"

_ "You okay?" _

"Yep"

_ "What happened?" _

"Met some interesting people, they caught me doing business"

_ "Gee. And they didn't report you?" _

"Nah, we came to an agreement"

_ "Dangerous deals?" _

"Not sure yet, but if it does end up like that, I'll be sure to run and call you"

_ "Good" _

"Why were you calling me earlier by the way?"

_ "Well I was gonna ask you to come watch a movie with me" _

"Damn, sorry I missed it"

_ "It's fine" _

"Well how was the rest of your day?"

And they just continued to talk through the afternoon. Jessica contemplated but decided that she'd keep Eliza out of the mess she found herself in. Eliza doesn't even know she has abilities, or that Metas existed. She doesn't need to know about S.T.A.R. Labs and the Streak.

* * *

_ [Kuroo]I’m alive _

_ [Shiro]Welcome back _

_ [Kuroo]How’ve you been? _

_ [Shiro]It’s been an interesting two months I’ll tell you that much _

_ [Kuroo]Oh? Do tell _

_ [Shiro]Call _

_ [Kuroo]K _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Year!


End file.
